Hieu was a 7th-century Irish

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

who worked in

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

. She was foundress of

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

s at

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

and Healaugh in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Hieu was also the first of the saintly

recluse A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion and solitude. The word is from the Latin , which means 'to open' or 'disclose'. Examples of recluses are Symeon of Trier, who lived within the great Roman gate Porta Nigra with permissio ...

s of Northumbria, and the first known woman to rule a

double monastery A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East ...

Life

Nothing is known of her early life, until she met

Aidan of Lindisfarne Aidan of Lindisfarne (; died 31 August 651) was an Irish monk and missionary credited with converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in Northumbria. He founded a ministry cathedral on the island of Lindisfarne, known as Lindisfarne Priory, ser ...

who appointed her

Hartlepool Abbey Hartlepool Abbey, also known as Heretu Abbey, Hereteu Abbey, Heorthu Abbey or Herutey Abbey, was a Northumbrian monastery founded in 640 CE by Hieu, the first of the saintly recluses of Northumbria,Bede, ''Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Angloru ...

and subsequently a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

at Healaugh near

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

. She died at Healaugh on 12 March of an unknown year in the 7th century. It is possible that the towns of Hartlepool (Hereteu) and Healaugh are named after her. Hieu's

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

is kept on September 2.September 2/September 15.
Orthodox Calendar (PRAVOSLAVIE.RU).

References

External links

* {{Authority control Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 7th-century births 7th-century Christian saints 7th-century English nuns 7th-century English women 7th-century Irish abbots 7th-century Irish nuns 7th-century Christian nuns Anglo-Saxon nuns Anglo-Saxon abbesses Benedictine nuns Christian female saints of the Middle Ages English hermits Irish hermits Northumbrian saints